After the announcement of the reorganization of its shareholding in Munksjö, its decor business ahlstrom-Munksjö, the fiber-based materials group, plans to change its trade name to Ahlstrom. The two names have been linked since the merger of the two Finnish groups in 2017. This change will also be accompanied by a reorganization of Ahlstrom's divisions.
These changes must serve a "clearer strategic direction and ambitious sustainability goals" to become the leader in sustainable specialty materials. A first step had been taken in 2021 with the implementation of various initiatives (including acquisitions) that increased Ahlstrom-Munksjö's sales to EUR 3.1 billion (EUR 2.7 billion in 2020) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to EUR 398 million from EUR 334 million.
Ahlstrom organized into five divisions
as of July 1, 2022, Ahlstrom will consist of five divisions serving five end markets: Filtration for critical air and liquid filtration applications, Health which brings together technologies in the fields of medicine, laboratories and life sciences, Building materials which concerns the application of high-tech building materials for each side of the building, Technical materials which includes protective materials such as insulation, precision coatings, adhesive tapes and Food and consumer packaging for food safety, product preservation and bacteria prevention solutions.
Growth in the Technical Materials division is being driven by "increasing performance characteristics in demanding technical applications, reducing emissions and replacing plastic with paper" says the group. Sophie Haan will lead this division as executive vice president from September 2022, when the current executive vice president, Dan Adrianzon, retires.
The activity of the Food and Consumer Packaging Division was supported by "the move toward home delivery and e-commerce, as well as the sustainable replacement of plastic with paper." . Mark Ushpol will continue to serve as executive vice president of the Food & Consumer Packaging Division.
And as previously announced, the company will divest its majority share of the decor business, which will operate under the name Munksjö. This divestment is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2022.
